I used to think GitHub Codespaces would help popularise Gitpod but now realize it is the other way around. Gitpod is currently permitted to exist in the Visual Studio Code ecosystem to popularise GitHub Codespaces, and Microsoft can step in at any moment to create legal crises that strategically divide the market from a business perspective because, like Apple and their AppStore: it is their ecosystem that they control and they are in absolute control.
I refuse to use VSCode/ium anymore; I usually pay for & use JetBrains; I keep trying—and failing—to use Emacs.
For me, the sweet spot is IntelliJ with the vim plugin. If you want to give emacs another try, I recommend Spacemacs. I use Spacemacs sometimes, but not for code.